Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in as the first black female Supreme Court justice on Thursday afternoon, minutes after her mentor, Judge Stephen G. Breyer, formalized his retirement. Jackson, 51, was chosen for court by President Biden after Breyer announced his plans to retire this year. He was confirmed on April 7, but waited for Breyer to complete the last term of his four-decade judicial career. Breyer’s work in court will end with the publication of the remaining views of the term and possibly with the announcement of some new cases that will be accepted for the next period. Jackson will be sworn in at a private ceremony in the Supreme Court that will be broadcast live on the Washington Post homepage. Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will take the oaths Jackson must take. Senate confirms Jackson as first black woman in Supreme Court Breyer sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday stating that he planned to end his service in the Supreme Court at noon. “You have nominated and the United States Senate has confirmed the honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson to succeed me to office, and I understand that she is ready to take the oaths of office to begin her service as the 116th member of this tribunal,” Breyer wrote. , who hired Jackson as a clerk for the 1999-2000 term. Breyer added, “I was honored to participate as a judge in the effort to uphold our Constitution and the rule of law.” Jackson will become the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and her promotion by the U.S. Court of Appeals to the DC track will mean that the Supreme Court will for the first time have four female judges among its nine members. He will serve with Judges Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett. Jackson will be only the third African-American judge, after Thergood Marshall, who died in 1993, and Clarence Thomas, who is the court’s longest-serving judge. With Breyer retiring, 74-year-old Thomas will become the court’s oldest judge. Four women in the Supreme Court would bring historic, almost gender equality, to an institution long dominated by white men The new judges normally take their oath and start working as soon as possible. Although the court will not hear oral arguments again until a new term begins in October, Jackson will be immediately fit to hear the urgent requests that have become increasingly part of the court’s work. He has already hired four officials and will begin the process of deciding whether to grant additional cases for the court case. She has not heard cases in the court of appeals since Biden announced her candidacy in February. She maintained a low profile, with limited appearances to speak for guidance and give an opening speech at the graduation of one of her daughters from Georgetown Day School in Washington. She also gave an interview to The Post, where she spoke about the importance of her candidacy and the responsibility she feels. “So many people are watching and seeing it as a door that opens to others,” Jackson said in a May interview. “I know I used to feel, ‘Oh my God, I really have to do well here so other people have that opportunity on the line.’ That I may be the first, but I do not want to be the last, and it is on my shoulders to make sure to leave a good impression for others to follow “. How Ketanji Brown Jackson Will Reword the Supreme Court Participates in a court divided by strong ideological differences and a liberal minority that responded to the court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade with an expansive and critical disagreement. “I am by nature an optimistic person,” Jackson said in an interview. “I will approach this by bringing my experience as a judge, my experience as a person in the world and my interest in making it all work.”
